SAMA Licenses Credit Line for Consumer Microfinance
The approval brings the number of licensed finance companies in Saudi Arabia to 77.
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has licensed Credit Line, a finance company, to provide consumer microfinance services, bringing the total number of licensed finance companies in the Kingdom to 77.
The approval expands Saudi Arabia's regulated non-bank finance sector, which forms part of broader efforts to increase access to credit, strengthen financial inclusion and support innovation across financial services. SAMA also urged customers to deal only with financial institutions licensed or authorised by the central bank, noting that licence status can be verified through its official website.
Under SAMA's regulations, consumer microfinance refers to consumer loans issued by finance companies licensed by the central bank. Licensed firms are required to assess borrowers' creditworthiness and repayment capacity, while financing is capped at SR 50,000 per customer, or SR 25,000 for financing provided through financial technology channels.
The approval follows a series of recent licensing decisions by SAMA. The central bank previously licensed Daftar Technologies, a financial technology company, to provide buy now, pay later services, as well as Jack Advanced to conduct consumer finance activities and Mowafaqa Digital to provide digital brokerage services for financing entities.
